Universality and Interoperability are core to W3C's goals and operating principles. In order
for specifications developed at W3C to permit full interoperability and access
to all, it is very important that the quality of implementation of these
standards be given as much attention as their development.

In 2000, the W3C Team suggested taking a new lead in improving the quality
of implementation for W3C technologies and received strong support from the
membership. We are considering a new Testing and Quality Assurance
Activity and as a first step we've started gathering and formalizing
existing QA efforts for the various languages and protocols we develop (see
our QA matrix under development).

As the complexity of W3C specifications and their interdependencies
increases, QA will become even more important to ensuring their acceptance and
deployment in the market. The past experiences of HTML, CSS or more recently
SMIL (all implemented with various degrees of conformance by vendors) are
strong incentives to start this activity with due diligence.

A workshop is the natural W3C way of gathering interest
and establishing a charter for a new activity, so we have decided to hold one
in partnership with NIST, a leader in the
development of conformance tests, in particular with W3C technologies.

The main objective of the workshop is to have W3C, its membership and the
Web community involved in QA at large to share their
understanding of the state of affairs for Web QA tools, technical and
business practices and conformance activities at W3C or related to W3C
specifications.

Furthermore, as we're planning the start of a new W3C
activity, one of our goals is to get feedback on the best course of
action within W3C that would improve the quality of W3C specifications
implementation in the field over time (i.e. what will be in the charter of
this activity). To that effect, a DRAFT Activity Proposal
will be circulated prior to and discussed during the workshop.

Besides the shape to give this new potential W3C QA activity, there are
several areas of interest related to Quality Assurance and Conformance of W3C
technologies that we would like to hear about at the workshop:

experience in validation of Web content and documents (e.g. is this CSS
page valid?)

It has a broad spectrum of participants from all the stakeholders
involved in QA for the Web and W3C

The workshop deliverables are produced successfully

Future W3C work in this area will vary depending on the workshop findings.
It is important to identify how W3C can make a unique contribution, whether
through its own development resource and/or liaison with other
organizations.

The workshop is an open event; however, space is limited and preference
will be given to (1) members of W3C working groups and (2) experts in the
field of Web QA

There will be no workshop participation fee.

Participants are responsible for their own accomodation and travel
expenses.

The number of participants per organization is initially limited to
one.

To attend the workshop, you must register by filling out the registration
form no later than March 28 2001. Registration is
required, even for invited speakers, experts and W3C staff!

Position papers are required to participate at this workshop.
Each person wishing to participate must submit a
position paper explaining their interest in the workshop at the time of
registration. See the Position Papers section of this
document.

The program committee will let all registrants know by March 22
2001 if there are too many persons in attendance and we need to apply
the preference rule stated above. Otherwise, everybody registered can
participate.

To facilitate workshop planning, anyone interested in participating should
send a statement of interest to www-qa@w3.org stating:

What are the needs of your company/organization in the field of Web/W3C
QA.

What are your general expectations on the final outputs of the
workshop?

What are your potential contributions to the discussion, related ideas,
and suggested solutions? A well-defined technical contribution may
accompany the position paper as an appendix.

Position papers will be published on the public Web pages of the workshop,
so position papers and slides of presentations must be available for public
dissemination. Submitting a position paper comprises a default recognition of
these terms for publication.Â Allowed formats are valid HTML/XHTML or plain text.
Papers in any other formats will be returned, with a request for correct
formatting.

The Program Committee will ask the authors of particularly salient position
papers to explicitly present their position at the workshop
to foster discussion. Presenters will also make the slides of the presentation
available on the workshop Web site.

Position papers must be submitted via email to the Workshop Chairs
(<danield@w3.org, lynne.rosenthal@nist.gov>) no later than 16
March 2001.

For example: from Dupont Circle in downtown D.C., it takes about 30 minutes
- 15 on the metro and depending on how you get to NIST (taxi or NIST Shuttle)
about 10 or 15 minutes.

The meeting will be held in Lecture Room B, in the Administration Building
(building 101) on the NIST main campus. The Administration Building is the
only high-rise building on the campus. Visitor parking is available opposite
the building.

Accommodation

A block of rooms has been reserved at the Gaithersburg Holiday
Inn, 301/948-8900. A special rate of $95, single or double, plus
12% tax, has been arranged for attendees. To reserve a room, please call
the hotel directly no later than Monday, March 12, and mention that you
are attending the NIST/W3C QA Workshop. Reservations made after March 12
are subject to the prevailing rates of the hotel. Check-in time is 3 p.m.,
check-out time is 12 noon. Reservations must be cancelled 24 hours prior
to arrival to receive a refund.

Transportation

Super-Shuttle, 1-800-258-3826 or Orbital Shuttle, 1-866-345-6492, offers
commercial van service from Dulles International, Ronald Reagan National,
and Baltimore-Washington International Airports to Gaithersburg. Call for
reservations. The Washington Metro has subway service to Gaithersburg.
Metro can be boarded at National Airport. Take a Yellow Line train marked
Mount Vernon Square to Gallery Place and transfer to a Red Line train
marked Shady Grove to the Shady Grove station. Service is every 6 to 15
minutes, depending on the time of day. The travel time from National to
Shady Grove is about 50 minutes. Taxis are available from the Shady Grove
Metro station to area hotels.

Driving Instructions

To reach NIST: Traveling north on I-270: take Exit 10, Rt. 117 West,
Clopper Road. At the first light on Clopper Road, turn left onto the NIST
grounds. Traveling south on I-270: take Exit 11, Rt. 124, Montgomery
Village Avenue/Quince Orchard Road. Bear right at the first light onto
Route 124 West, Quince Orchard Road. At the third light, turn left onto
Rt. 117. At the next light, turn right onto the NIST grounds. To reach the
Administration Building, turn left after passing the guard office. Signs
will direct you to visitor parking.

To reach the Gaithersburg Holiday Inn: Traveling north on I-270, take
Exit 11, Rt. 124, Montgomery Village Avenue/Quince Orchard Road. At the
first traffic light, turn left onto Rt. 124. At the third traffic light,
turn left onto Rt. 355/N. Frederick Ave. The hotel will be on your
right.